Key facts about Afghanistan
Afghanistan on the map of Central Asia
An introduction in facts and figures to this landlocked country in the south of Central Asia
Official Name
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
- Hamid Karzai (2004 - present )
Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
- Vice President - Mohammed Fahim
- Vice President - Karim Khalili
Total land area of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
- 647,500 km2 (251,772 sq mi)
Nationality of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Population – 28,395,716 million (2010)
- Life expectancy at birth: total population: 45.02 years
- Life expectancy at birth male: 44.79 years
- Life expectancy at birth female: 45.25 years (2011 est.)
The capital is Kabul – 1 925 548 million inhabitants (2006)
The population of Kabul metropolitan area is 3.9 million people (2011)
Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces and every province is further divided into a number of districts
- Badakhshan
- Badghis
- Baghlan
- Balkh
- Bamyan
- Daykundi
- Farah
- Faryab
- Ghazni
- Ghor
- Helmand
- Herat
- Jowzjan
- Kabul
- Kandahar
- Kapisa
- Khost
- Konar
- Kunduz
- Laghman
- Logar
- Nangarhar
- Nimruz
- Nurestan
- Oruzgan
- Paktia
- Paktika
- Panjshir
- Parvan
- Samangan
- Sare Pol
- Takhar
- Wardak
- Zabol
Ethnic groups of Afghanistan
- Pashtun - 42%
- Tajik - 27%
- Hazara - 9%
- Uzbek - 9%
- Aimak - 4%
- Turkmen - 3%
- Baloch - 2%
- Others (Pashai, Nuristani, Arab, Brahui, Pamiri, Gujjar, etc.) - 4%
Languages spoken in Afghanistan
- Pashto and Dari (Afghan Persian/Farsi) are the official languages of Afghanistan.
National holidays in Afghanistan in 2012
- February 04, 2012 - Roze-Maulud (Birth of the Prophet)
- February 15, 2012 - Liberation Day
- March 21, 2012 - Navruz (Persian New Year)
- April 18, 2012 - Liberation Day
- April 28, 2012 - Revolution Day; Loss of the Muslim Nation
- May 01, 2012 - Labour Day
- August 19, 2012 - Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan)
- August 19, 2012 - National Day
- October 26, 2012 - Eid-al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice)
- November 24, 2012 - Ashura (Martyrdom of Imam Hussein)
Currency of Afghanistan
- Currency in Afghanistan: afghani (AFA)
Main Business Partners of Afghanistan
Main Industries of Afghanistan
- small-scale production of textiles
- soap
- furniture
- shoes
- fertilizer
- cement
- hand-woven carpets
- natural gas
- coal
- copper
Area of farmland in Afghanistan
Only a very small share of Afghanistan's land (about 15 percent), mostly in scattered valleys, is suitable for farming; about 6 percent of the land is actually cultivated.
Agriculture
Areas of speciality in agriculture:
- opium
- wheat
- fruits
- nuts
- wool
- mutton
- sheepskins
- lambskins
Communication Facilities in Afghanistan
Telephone: main telephone equipment including CDMA fixed-telephone-lines 73,000 (2011), users of mobile phones (cellular phone lines) - 17.2 million
Internet users: more than 1.1 million
